Goodman to appeal ethics ruling

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Monday he will appeal the state Ethics Commission's May ruling that he violated ethics laws by using his elected position to help his son's business.

Immediately after the commission's decision, Goodman said he would not appeal it, but on Monday he said his wife convinced him otherwise because she doesn't want an ethics violation on his record.

Goodman said his appeal will be based on a 1995 commission opinion, which found former City Councilman Frank Hawkins violated state ethics laws several times. That opinion determined, among other issues, that Hawkins violated ethics laws by inviting people that had business before the council to a private golf tournament he would profit from.

The mayor said that decision is relevant to his case because he had no power over those who attended a Jan. 22 cocktail party he hosted in Washington, D.C., for iPolitix, a company partly owned by son Ross Goodman and City Councilman Michael Mack. The mayor was in Washington at the time attending a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting.

The commission found that by telling his son about the event, allowing his name to be used on the invitation to the cocktail party, handing out some invitations, and telling other mayors at the party about the iPolitix product, Goodman secured for his son a benefit that would not otherwise have been available had he not been the mayor's son. The commission, however, was split on whether the violation was willful, which meant there was no finding of a willful violation of the law and no fine for Goodman.

Ethics Commission Executive Director Stacy Jennings said she and the commission members considered the Hawkins opinion but she said that opinion does not apply to Goodman's case.

"As I said in my original report, I thought the two cases were apples and oranges," Jennings said.

Goodman also said that he disagrees with the claim that his son received any advantage thanks to his position.

"It was available to everybody, the Conference of Mayors sent out a notice" that it was looking for information about the use of technology in elections, Goodman said.

The younger Goodman's business, iPolitix, produced a computer disc that contained various speeches and issues. Analysts could use that to track a user's attitudes by following which speeches or issues they spent the most time with, or which they clicked on first.

The commission's 19-page written opinion, which was made public Monday, reiterates the May decision in which Goodman was cleared of any breaches of ethics laws surrounding a $100,000 contract Goodman has to be a spokesman for a gin company, his appearance in a Jane Magazine promotion, and his use of a Cadillac loaned to the city.

At the time of the ruling, Goodman said he was glad to be cleared of almost all the charges, and happy there was no finding that he willfully violated the law. He said he would not appeal the decision, but has since changed his mind. Goodman has 30 days to file an appeal in District Court.

"My wife, she doesn't like reading all the time about ethics charges against me. My wife didn't want it on my record," Goodman said.

Goodman said he will appeal the case to District Court, and said that if the Hawkins decision means anything he should win "since I didn't have any dominion or control over those invited," to the Washington, D.C. cocktail party.

"I thought it was a very well-reasoned and well written opinion," Goodman said. "It was fairly written, concise, there's just a disagreement ... on whether Hawkins applies. ...

"We'll let a court decide."